Sundance Review: Eva Victor’s First Film Sorry, Baby is a Unique Revelation

      Agnes’ (Eva Victor) existence is marked by a feeling of stagnation. Four years after finishing graduate school in rural New England, she remains in the same house and continues to work in the same building, now as a professor. The only moments of true joy come from infrequent visits by her best friend and former roommate Lydie (Naomi Ackie), who has moved on to start a family in New York City. As Victor meticulously unveils the layers of her sharp, unsettling, and witty feature debut Sorry, Baby, the source of Agnes' time stagnation becomes evident: during her final days of grad school, she was raped by her advisor, who abandoned the town, leaving behind a lack of accountability and a void of justice or closure.

      In piecing together a fragmented life, Victor (who wrote and directed the film) navigates this sensitive subject matter with both piercing emotional insight and an element of surprising humor, skillfully blending tone and storytelling. The themes explored in her debut—how sexual assault impacts every moment of life, eroding friendships, competitive workspaces, and human-animal relationships—may not be new, but the precise way she addresses each scene with incredible clarity feels revelatory.

      Presented in a nonlinear format with distinct chapters, the story begins with “The Year with the Baby.” When Lydie finally visits Agnes’ remote home, she reveals her pregnancy. Agnes responds with a mix of joking narcissism, asking Lydie if she’ll name the baby after her. Their friendship feels authentic; they discuss everything from sex to suicide and always support one another in the most awkward situations. Cinematographer Mia Cioffi Henry captures the narrative with calm precision, and an unsettling framing starts to emerge. A foreboding atmosphere builds as Agnes appears to be trapped in solitude, disturbed by nighttime noises. While it has hints of a horror movie, the film subtly indicates that all is not well in her mind and body. We then rewind four years to the chapter marking the event that will forever alter Agnes’ life: “The Year with the Bad Thing.”

      Delving too deeply into plot details would diminish Sorry, Baby’s surprising impact. Victor approaches the trauma of sexual assault and its consuming aftermath with nuance and clarity. Rather than depicting the assault, she empowers Agnes to narrate the incident in stark, haunting detail. It's a truly unsettling scene, where Victor writes, directs, and acts with an incredible specificity of emotion and disorientation. What follows is a wave of humor stemming from a visit to a socially oblivious doctor and a less-than-caring school administration as Agnes begins to realize these institutions are less about assisting victims and more about fulfilling their obligations. This astute insight, layered with dark humor and the acceptance of Agnes needing to rely on herself to rebuild her life, is what makes Sorry, Baby outstanding. The ability of Victor to articulate the horrors of this nightmare while maintaining a gentle warmth is remarkable.

      As minor yet impactful characters enter her life—including the long-anticipated return of Lucas Hedges as her compassionate neighbor and a dynamic John Carrol Lynch in a memorable one-scene appearance—we start to see different facets of our protagonist. She’s crafted a character who speaks her mind openly, yet there remains a compelling mystery at her core. As the reasoning behind the structure becomes clearer, Victor understands that no simple resolution exists. The thesis she has dedicated her life to becomes a tainted reminder of her worst fear. The spaces she frequents serve as reminders of the traumatic event. Even a single word can trigger a wave of discomfort. With flawless nuance in every gesture, Victor delivers an extraordinary performance, embodying a mix of suffering and tender, confrontational empathy toward her immediate surroundings.

      After producing some of the most distinct work from female directors in recent years, such as Aftersun, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Barry Jenkins and Adele Romanski’s PASTEL has achieved another success with Sorry, Baby. There’s not a moment in Victor’s debut that feels like her vision was compromised. While comparisons to the tonal balancing seen in the early works of Greta Gerwig and Phoebe Waller-Bridge are valid on the surface, Victor has created a film that is uniquely her own, refreshing in a landscape of American independent cinema that often follows the latest trends. A directorial debut marked by unfiltered honesty in both its tragedy and humor, Sorry, Baby is a remarkable storytelling achievement.

      Sorry, Baby premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

      Grade: A-